Coming home
by CSIchick258
Summary: The discovery of the bodies of 20 gang-members in rural LA leads to a shock discovery for the FBI team, and causes Colby to relive a tragedy he thought he had got past. Colby/OC and slightly AU as we don't really know much about Colby's past.
1. The warehouse

Ok so this is an AU slightly future fic about 8 months after the series finale. The first two chapters occur at the same time.

It's also incredibly random, but the easiest thing for me to write about are teenagers who are even only slightly British.

Pairings: Colby/OC, Charlie/Amita, Don/Robin

Disclaimer: Don't own anything apart from the unrecognizable characters. This also applies to every chapter because I can't be bothered to repeat it

Location: A warehouse in rural Los Angeles

"It's going south!" 17-year old Rowan shouted, as the drug deal that 'Father' had arranged turned from a calm business deal to a hail of gunfire and bullets.

She was not worried though. She had been trained for situations like this she was 4 years old, and she had the back up of the 27 others to count on, as well as 'Father'. As she started shooting gang members, she started moving towards the back of the warehouse towards the younger children. They had barely started their training. You could only assist 'Father' if you were over the age of 11, until then you were kept hidden away in safety.

"It's Arrow!" another gang-banger exclaimed, before he was abruptly silenced by Rowan's sub-machine gun. She had not planned to have such a well known nickname. To be honest, none of her life had actually occurred the way it was supposed to.

Rowan let herself think back to the day her life changed completely. She had just been playing in the park with her father during one of his rare times of leave. Although, when she thought about it, even when he was on leave she didn't get to see him often due to her completely messed up family. Well, it wasn't even a family really. There were the people who she had lived with and was related to, and then there was her dad and his mother, her actual family. It was a completely twisted start to her life, and now it was even more twisted.

Whilst Rowan had been thinking through the events that had got her to where she was now, she hadn't noticed that the gunfire had stopped, and that Judas was walking towards her.

_Judas _Rowan thought to herself. She supposed that if they lived in the real world people would consider them as boyfriend and girlfriend, but in their world, their relationship was a lot deeper than that.

"You ok?" he asked her. Rowan just nodded, as the realisation of the promise they had made to one another at the tender age of 8. _If we ever get back to the states, we must make sure we are found, and return to our families_. "You ready?"

Again, Rowan simply nodded. She turned to the crates she had been leaning against, and ripped off the sleeves of her black t-shirt. Next she took the pen-knife concealed at her the small of her back, and made a long thin incision across the palm of her hand. If 'Father' found out what she was doing, she was sure that there would only be pieces of her body left to find. It was only the thoughts of her real father that kept her smearing her blood all over the crates. Finally, Rowan used one of her removed sleeves to tie around her hand, and left the other next to the blood.

"Let's go" she said. Judas simply nodded as they both gathered up their various weapons and walked towards the truck at the back of the warehouse. It always surprised her that the two of them were so connected, that they simply only needed to nod and they knew how the other was feeling. That was her only regret if their plan worked, that they may well be separated. But she refused to let that concern overtake the big picture. They wanted to go _home_.

As the two of them reached the truck, they saw 'Father' arranging the other children and all of their weapons. There were 29 of them in total, with 28 children ranging from the ages of 4 to 17, making herself and Judas the oldest. At each age there was a boy and girl, each one having been kidnapped like Rowan and Judas both had. It was sad really. It meant that 28 different families had suffered the same horror of having their child stolen. More, given that there were 26 older children already there when Rowan and Judas had joined. 'Father' merely glanced at them, oblivious to their betrayal of him. In his view, they were his most loyal and best fighters. For Rowan though, she was also his best and most reliable sniper and assassin.

_Greeeeeeeat, a master assassin at 17. Way to go Ro_. She was not proud that her reputation had meant that she was immensely feared in the criminal community all over the world, but it did mean that cooperation was always more likely.

As the truck roared to life, and the 29 people left yet another warehouse full of bodies, Judas and Rowan looked at each other with expressions both full of love and renewed hope. _Home._

So yeah, that's the first chapter. Sorry it doesn't really flow, but I knew that this bit would be the most difficult to write.

Please review, even if just to tell me that it's rubbish.


	2. The wedding

Like I said, chapter 2 is supposed to take place at the same time as chapter 1. I know none of this plot is actually realistic but it was just a random idea that came into my head which I decided to try and write.

"To Don and Robin!"

"Don and Robin!" the entire hall chorused as Charlie's best man speech came to an end. The relatively small group applauded and cheered as the newlywed's kissed and Amita gave her husband a small peck on the cheek. Alan looked on as the proud father, and possibly with a bit of relief at finally having both sons married.

As people begun to move from their seats to the dance floor, the FBI team as well as the Professors, Alan, Ian and ex-team members David and Megan all gathered slightly away from the blasting speakers. In the years that they had all been together, the group had become a very close-knit family, even with David and Megan's leaving.

"Can you believe the boss man is finally married? It was about time to be honest" Colby exclaimed as Don looked lovingly at his new wife.

The rest of the team simply laughed and shook their heads at the Idaho agent, although they all failed to conceal the grins that were coming across their faces. "Well it means my job is done," said Alan, "I'm just waiting for grand-children now". This claim caused the whole group to burst into laughter again as both Eppes boys quickly turned red.

"To be honest Colby I'm more surprised you actually introduced this mystery girlfriend you've been talking about non-stop for almost 8 months" jested Liz, as Colby himself turned red and pulled said brunette closer into his side. Alice Newton was a kindergarten teacher that Colby had met after interviewing a different teacher at the same school for a case. They had instantly hit it off and now 7 and a half months later were still going strong, and even thinking about moving in together. _Maybe we'll get another one married _Alan thought dryly, as he looked at the man he considered as a surrogate son.

"Yeah what's up with that?" Don asked, relieved that the ragging had finally shifted from him. "Even so, it's nice to finally meet you Alice. Especially after all we've heard about you. Colby always sounds like this little lovesick pup..."

"Yeah yeah, ok, enough of the Colby bullying. Let's not ruin the day" Alan decided, seeing the young man's head hanging down at the ribbing he was getting from his friends.

"So Don, where are you heading for your honeymoon?" asked Megan. She was very happy to back with her old friends. Whilst not regretting leaving the FBI, she did occasionally miss the banter that her old team had always had.

"Somewhere far away from any phones" Don replied.

"Aww come on Don, that's no fun" moaned Nikki. "How're we gonna contact you if we need help on a case?"

"You can't," Don said dryly. "That is exactly my point."

The group broke out into laughter again, and as the evening continued the banter which they had always shared continued to flow. Neither they nor an outsider looking in, would know that in just a couple of weeks all manner of secrets would become exposed.

Again, this whole story is supposed to be realistic. If I do a sequel that I am currently pondering then that one will actually make sense.

Please review. x


	3. The fastforward

This chapter takes place 2 weeks after the last two, and again this and the next one take place at the same time.

"You know you could get me killed for this. How did you get away from your owner?"

As Rowan walked through yet abandoned warehouse with yet another gang-banger, she had to resist the temptation to shoot him for his constant wittering. It had been two weeks since she and Judas set their plan in motion, and she knew that they would have to speed up the process if they were to go home before they left the country again.

"Yo, are you listening to me?"

"Yes I'm listening to you dingbat, it's hard not to."

"Well then do you have any idea how hard this is gonna be?"

_Duh idiot _rowan thought. She knew it was a tough ask, but she really needed him to do this for her.

"Look I know it's tough, but I really need you to let the authorities know about the deal going down. I don't give a crap how, but you need to do it before tomorrow and they need to know it's linked to the other deal." _Ok it's really hard, but really necessary_

"You're crazy."

_That's it. _Rowan pulled the 45 from the small of her back and swiftly had it pressed to her companion's forehead. "Listen to me ok, I need you to do this, so you're gonna do it, before your head becomes a little bit heavier due to the small bullet that will be inside it. We clear?"

The very serious threat had said companion simply nodding and running as fast as he could away from her. _How the hell is he in a gang? _Rowan thought, before climbing in to her jeep and returning to the base camp, where she opened the door to find Judas waiting for her.

"He doesn't have a clue. How'd it go?" he asked, while affectionately running his hands up and down her arms. To everyone else, it failed to portray the seriousness of their actual conversation.

"It's done. Hopefully this will all be over soon." She gave him a small smile and turned to walk to their 'room'. "Look I'm exhausted, and it's late, let's just go to bed ok?"

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah I'm fine, it's just...I can't believe that we're really doing this" she stuttered as they sat cross-legged facing each other on their 'bed', which in truth was just a mattress on the floor with a sheet. "It's been so long since I last saw my dad, and since we thought of this that I can't believe it's going to happen so soon." Judas gave a small smile at her rambling, quite a cute mannerism in an otherwise cold persona. "I mean you saw the older ones, they loved being these reckless individuals who could do anything, and they barely missed their families. Me, I've been here for just over 13 years and I still miss my dad like crazy."

"That's because you made sure you remembered him. Just like you made sure I remembered my parents, and all the other kids. Because of you, we will all be happy to be home. No ridiculous Stockholm syndrome or anything." Judas was so proud of her for making sure that they didn't forget where they were from. "Just relax. Everything will be fine. Now, get some rest." He gave a small peck on the cheek, and they both lay down for some much needed sleep.

The next morning, Rowan woke early, and decided to go for a run to work off some stress. Half way through, she received a text from her secret phone that Father did not know about.

**LAPD has been informed. Get ready.**

_This is it. Father would rather leave us to fight then get caught himself if he hears cops._ She finished her run in a daze, and when she returned she barely noticed that Judas and Father were both awake and having a conversation.

"Good run I trust Arrow?"

Father, like most of the criminals they ran into, insisted on calling her by her nickname. It had only started after the removal of a Russian military fundamentalist who had been attacking small villages. One of his bodyguards had made a comment describing her as 'fast and deadly, like an arrow'. It had always annoyed, but she had to admit it came in handy it certain situations.

"Yes Father, 10 miles."

"Impressive. I always knew you were one of the best." The smile he gave her creeped her out immensely, and she had to control the shudder that threatened to creep up her back. Judas though, showing how in tune they had always been, noticed her discomfort and immediately diverted Father's attention.

"Father, should I make you breakfast."

"Please Judas"

"Some help Rowan?" She was only too happy to oblige, and as they walked away from Father and towards the gas camping stove, their hands briefly touched, and they shared a loving and knowing smile.

I am going to admit, that the bits pre-revelation I am finding the hardest to write. Hopefully they're not too bad.

The revelation will probably happen in either the next chapter or the third chapter from now depending on what you guys think. I'm getting impatient and I'm writing the thing.


	4. The crime scene

**Sorry it's taken so long to update, I've been milking cows on a farm with no internet access whatsoever for the last two weeks.**

**So this chapter should be bit longer as I'm going to try and put a lot more in it. Enjoy!**

**p.s. this will have the reveal in**

"Well someone looks refreshed from their honeymoon, though not particularly tanned. Did you go out at all?" Colby jested as he saw Don walk in on his first day after his two week honeymoon. His co-workers all turned round and smiled at their relaxed looking boss.

"Haha, just wait till you and Alice get married Colb. Then we'll see who's laughing." Don said dryly, though he did have a large grin on his face as he saw his agent go red in the face and turn back to his computer.

Just as Don said his hello's to the rest of the team, his cell phone went off. "They must know you're back Don" Nikki said, trying unsuccessfully to hide her laughter caused by the expression that had passed across her boss' face.

Don merely rolled his eyes at his team and answered the phone. As the person on the other end spoke to him, the team noticed his face turn sombre, and the hardened FBI mask replace the before relaxed expression.

"Warehouse out in the desert, 15 bodies of suspected gang-bangers. Let's go." He said after he hung up. The team quickly and quietly gathered their gear as they had done so many times before, and headed off to one of the worst scenes they had for awhile. As their cars pulled up to the warehouse, they noticed a mass of LAPD officers milling around and being directed by Lieutenant Gary Walker. As they exited the vehicle, he approached them, said simply "It's a bloodbath," and turned to lead them inside.

Even to the experienced agents, what they saw inside shocked them. There were bodies everywhere, riddled with bullet holes. But that wasn't what was most surprising. What was most surprising was that there was nothing else there apart from the bodies. If it wasn't for the fresh kills, you wouldn't believe the place had been touched in years.

"I know" Gary said, "It's weird." As the team walked round a little bit they realised that he wasn't exaggerating. There was really nothing. "My guys have only swept this initial area; we haven't checked the back yet other than to clear the building."

The team got out their flashlights, and began to search the warehouse to find any shred of evidence that they could find. As Liz moved towards the back of the building, she noticed a piece of black material on top of a crate just round a corner. _That looks new _"Don, I think I've found something." As she turned the corner and stood in front of the crate, she noticed that the piece of material she had seen appeared to be the sleeve of a t-shirt, and then she noticed the blood.

"What you got Liz?" Don asked as he, the rest of the team and Gary came round the corner.

"I spotted the piece of material with my flashlight, came to check it out and found this."

As Colby bagged the piece of t-shirt as evidence, he looked quizzically at the blood smear. A look which was noticed by Gary. "What are you thinking Granger?"

"Does anyone else think that that blood smear looks deliberate?" As the rest of his team looked more closely, equal expressions of agreement passed across their faces as they all came to the same conclusion. "If it was accidental it would be more uneven, but this is completely evenly spread. I think whoever did this, wanted it to be found."

"Me too," Don said. "Take a sample and we'll test it when we get back."

The next morning, the team were all seated in the conference room going through what little information they had so far. Charlie and Amita were there in a hope that they would be able to make some sense of the limited data.

"Right, so all we know is that our suspicions were correct and they are indeed gang-bangers. But we have no idea why they were there and the only evidence we have is a t-shirt sleeve and a deliberate blood smear" Don said, failing to keep the frustration out of his voice.

"When do we get the DNA results back from the blood?" Liz asked.

"Within the next hour".

"So until then we just have to wait and see" Charlie said. "Formulate plausible theories of what could have happened. I'm sure it's unsurprising for you to know that Amita and I can't do anything with the current level of information."

Don nodded grimly, and then turned to Colby. "Why don't you give Gary a call and see if the gang unit has heard anything?"

"Sure".

The team minus Colby spent the next half an hour in relative silence as they flicked through their notes and tried to make any conclusions. The quiet was only broken by the rushing in of Mark, the lab tech.

"Agent Eppes, I got the results of the DNA test back" he said breathlessly. "You're not going to believe what I found". Mark walked towards the front and pulled up a file on the large screen. "I ran the blood you found in the warehouse and I got a match to a missing person's case from 13 years ago"

"Rowan Laine" Don read out loud. "Kidnapped age four from a park in Idaho while her father was helping a young pregnant woman". Thankful for finally having a lead in the case, the team started taking notes and anyone could see that how relieved they all were. "Thanks Mark".

"But Agent Eppes that wasn't what was most important".

"What was it then?"

"The father's name...It's Agent Granger sir" Mark finished off nervously.

"What?" and sure enough as Don scrolled down there it was, 'Father: Colby Granger'. "Colby is the father of the missing girl whose blood was found at a crime scene with the bodies of 15 gang-bangers" Don said tiredly. "Get him in here now".

Less than a minute later Colby walked in with a puzzled look on his face. "You wanted to see me boss...why is my daughter's file on the big screen?"

"The blood we found at the warehouse belonged to her" Don said carefully as he watched his agent collapse into a chair, an expression of sadness on his face that he had never seen before on the hardened agent. "Colb, talk to us".

Colby took a deep breath, and then told the story that he had buried deep down since the day his daughter was kidnapped. "My girlfriend and I were 16 when she found out she was pregnant. She came from a wealthy and well known family in my town, and she saw it as a complete disaster. If it wasn't for her beliefs that abortions are wrong she probably wouldn't have even kept the baby".

Don could see the inner turmoil going through Colby, but he knew that it would be better for the case if they had all the information. So he simply urged Colby to continue, but ready to stop him if he felt it was necessary.

"After Rowan was born," Colby continued, "Sophie, who was now my ex-girlfriend, was granted full custody and I got limited visitation rights. Her family had convinced the courts that due to my father's death and their much more substantial wealth, I was not a suitable parent." Even after all the years that had past the disgust and sadness in the decision was still very evident in Colby. "Sophie didn't care about Rowan She never did anything with her. I tried to spend as much time with her as possible, but it was difficult given my limited visitation."

"I have no doubt you were still an amazing father Colby" Amita said reassuringly, offering him a small smile which was only slightly returned.

"Why don't you tell us about the day she was kidnapped" Liz asked.

After taking an even deeper and more shuddering breath, Colby began again. "I...um...took Rowan to our local park and...I...uh...was keeping an eye on her as she played on the swings. This pregnant woman walked past and she dropped her bag full of stuff. I bent down to help her pick things up and when I turned back to the swings Rowan was gone" he finished sadly. "To this day I regret not keeping an eye on her."

"Colby I'm sure there was nothing you could have done" Charlie said reassuringly. Colby only nodded in response, and before anyone else could say anything Don's phone rang

"Eppes".

"**Eppes it's Lt Walker. We just received intel that there's another meet going down at a warehouse tonight, on the other side of LA to the other one. Same guys as before."**

"Alright, send the information and we'll get a plan together" Don said quickly as he hung up. "We've got another meet happening tonight, we're meeting Gary there". As soon as he finished talking the team began gathering their stuff together, except for Colby who now had his head in his hands.

"Colb" he said, gaining the agent's attention. "I know you're not gonna like it but I want you to stay here. Yes, I know she's your daughter but I don't want to risk it". Don had expected some sort of argument, but Colby simply nodded and put his head back in his hands. "Look after him for me guys" he said quietly to Charlie and Amita as he walked past them on the way out.

Colby however was oblivious and had only one thing going though his head. _Rowan._

**I don't know if any of you saw that coming but congrats if you did.**

**I will try and get another chapter up soon but I am quite busy at the moment.**

**Please review x**


	5. The confrontation

**Hey guys. Again, I'm really sorry for not updating but I've just started my final year at school and I'm trying to sort out work and predicted grades and my personal statement and I'm just ridiculously busy atm.**

**This chapter will have the confrontation, hence the name. I'm afraid that Colby will only be mentioned but I assure he will be in it lots after this.**

**Enjoy x**

"You ready?" asked Judas.

"As ready as I'll ever be" Rowan replied.

Tonight was it. Providing everything went to plan, they might be able to get out of here. Away from the nightmares their lives had become. They already knew that if it did work, it would take them a while to adjust. But they were ready for that challenge.

After one final glance at one another they walked out into the main area of the warehouse, where Father was negotiating a deal for 150kg of cocaine.

"I want at least $4.5 mil bro, any less and we walk."

"Well I'm not paying any more than 3, it's not that pure" said Father, his constantly calm exterior never once breaking.

"Listen dude, I told you it's...pure..." the dealer hesitated. "Yo let's get outta here, it's the cops man!"

As the dealers got to their van, driving off with the drugs in the back, Rowan and Judas heard the surprisingly loud sound of police sirens. _They must have snuck up, or their bluffing and aren't really cops _Rowan thought, remembering an op in Russia where a deal had almost gone wrong when a rival gang had pretended to be cops in order to get rid of both sides.

"Rowan, Judas we got some real LAPD cars and some big black SUVs coming!" yelled Alicia, who was a year younger than the two of them and was also in on their plan.

_Time for stage 2. _"Father!" Rowan yelled. The man in question came running over immediately to his favourite of all the children. "Get out of here. It's more important for you to get away, we can fight off the cops. When we're done we'll find you." Rowan sincerely hoped he would believe her, his leaving was crucial to their plan working.

"That is an excellent idea Rowan." Father said, looking relieved at being able to escape from the fire fight that would probably ensue. "I know you will find me," and with that he ran from the warehouse to safety.

_Coward, at least he's gone though. _"Ok everyone listen up, get in defensive positions!" Rowan yelled to the rest of the group. They all knew the plan, but had to be prepared in case it wasn't really the police. "Here we go."

It had been quiet in the car ever since the three agents had left the FBI building. They were simply too shocked to even start a conversation, not expecting the turn of events that had happened. They had known from the very beginning, that very first crime scene, that this case would likely be quite surprising, but none of them had expected what had emerged.

Don took a brief moment to glance at the two female agents in the car with him. Both were staring blankly out of the window, both absorbed in their thoughts. After only slightly hesitating, Don asked "What do you think we'll find?"

Nikki remained looking out the window, but Liz turned to face Don and answered "Who knows. We weren't expecting Colby to have a daughter, or that she would be involved."

"I know Liz," Don replied tiredly.

"I can't believe he's kept that in all this time, that he didn't tell any of us."

"Maybe there is someone he told," Don replied reaching for his phone. After searching through his contacts and finding the number he desired, he put the phone on speaker and placed it on the dash. After a few rings a deep voice answered.

"_Sinclair"_

"Hey David its Don"

"_Hey Don, what can I do for you at this time in the evening?"_

"I need to ask you something, about Colby"

"_He ok?" _he asked, his concern immediate for his best friend.

_Define ok _Don thought wryly. "Yeah he's fine. I just wanted to know if he told you something."

"_Like what?"_

Don took a deep breath and said the words which seemed so foreign to him, "His daughter."

There was a long pause before David finally answered, _"What's going on Don? Is there a break in her case or something?"_

None of the three agents could hide their surprise at this question, although given how close the two men were, they were also surprised at their surprise. Finally Don replied, "He told you?"

"_Yeah, though not intentionally. We had gone to watch the game at his apartment after the Jo Santiago kidnapping case, and I could tell something was bugging him. I was looking at some of his pictures while he got some beers and I found a small picture of her. When I asked him, he broke down, told me everything." _David briefly paused, unsure whether to reveal the next information. _"I've never seen him look so broken Don."_

The agent in question wanted to ask his ex-agent some more questions but could see they were pulling up on the warehouse. "Sorry to cut the conversation short David, but we gotta go." Hanging up as the agents climbed out of the car, they saw the swat team of both the FBI and the LAPD ready to go and Lieutenant Walker issuing orders. They quickly joined the rest of the group and prepared for entry.

"Let's go!"

As the large group of heavily armed agents and police officers entered the building, the first thing that Don noticed was that it was empty. "Hold positions!" he called as the group formed a large barrier across the front of the warehouse. The whole team looked around in confusion, and began to lower their weapons when a heavily armed young girl walked out of the shadows towards them. The whole group immediately raised their weapons, and Don couldn't help but notice that the blue-green eyes and light brown hair looked slightly familiar.

"Lower you weapons!" Don yelled

"I don't see why I need to. I'm not pointing them at anyone, and if you were in my position would you?" the young girl replied.

Don could tell both swat teams were not happy with her answer, and the sound of their guns being readied echoed in the large room.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the girl said confidently. Suddenly form nowhere, children from all ages appeared form various hiding places, all pointing their guns at the police team. The team looked around in shock, knowing that the large number and various directions of the kids meant that would quickly lose in a fire fight.

"Identify yourself!" Lieutenant Walker yelled, and Don soon realized his first assumptions were correct.

"Rowan Granger. Who the hell are you?"

**So there we have it, the first meeting of Rowan and the team (minus Colby).**

**I think this story will be about 5 chapters longer, though I may do a pre/sequel. Let me know what you think.**

**Also, as I said earlier, the updates aren't going to be very regular. I've got school work, university applications, netball, rugby, dance and a social life to juggle so I'm quite stressed.**

**I will try and get an update up as soon as possible.**

**Please review x**


	6. The support

**Hi everyone still reading this story. I know that it's been almost 2 and a half years since I last updated this, but since then I've finished school, started at university, and the last year of my life has been a complete and utter mess. When I wanted to write I just didn't have time, or I didn't have inspiration.**

**However! I have now (finally) got some free time, and some inspiration back. I'm still not sure how regular these updates will be, but I will try my best. Veterinary courses are pretty damn time consuming!**

**Anyway, this chapter follows on directly from the last, and will deal with the ramifications of what happened.**

**Enjoy x**

A stunned silence fell over the group. Whilst Don had suspected as soon as he saw her, seeing the teenage girl in front of him was still a shock. Even after seeing her photo from her kidnapping file, he hadn't quite pictured her looking quite so like Colby. The longer he stared at her, the more he could see it. Her hair. Her eyes. He could even imagine his agent's playful grin on her young face. A face which right now, he felt was boring a hole right through him.

"FBI!" Don shouted again. "Drop your weapons!"

He thought he had seen a flash of hope in the young girl's eyes, but it was gone before he had a chance to believe it. She looked so cold, standing there in her black t-shirt, combats and boots. She had more weapons on her than most SWAT guys he knew, and he could tell in her confident stance, that she was more than happy to use them.

While she pondered her next move, Don took the opportunity to look around at his fellow agents and police officers. Both Nikki and Liz were frozen, staring right at the girl in front of them. _Rowan_ he thought. It was clear to him now that this was indeed Colby's daughter. But whether it was the same daughter he lost? He doubted it. But as his gaze moved across the members of the LAPD and Lieutenant Walker, he realised that it would be impossible to tell. 13 years would change any child, let alone one in Rowan's situation.

"Badge."

Her hard voice shocked him, causing him to spin abruptly back to face her. She was looking at him expectantly, but he could only reply with "what?"

"Your badge," she repeated as if talking to a child. "I want to see it."

As quickly but as smoothly as he could, he tossed her the required item. Watching as she sent a keen eye over it, looking for any flaws. He could feel the tension in the room. Members of both parties waiting for their orders. He could tell the power she had over all of the children, and looking over her shoulder, he saw one particular scope pointing straight at him.

He was pulled out of his musings by the sensation of something hitting his foot. He looked down quickly, noticing it was his badge before snapping his head back up again. But this time when he looked up, he didn't see the cold stare he was expecting, but rather a smirk. As Rowan opened her mouth, he heard a unanimous intake of breath from all the officers behind him.

"Dismissed!"

All of a sudden, the previously tense atmosphere changed to one of high activity. Children were pouring out from hiding places everywhere, lowering their weapons, and walking towards the officers. Despite various grumblings of confusion and scepticism, they seemed to realise that this was the group's surrender, and began moving forward to meet the children. Don and his team however, could not stop staring at that one girl, who now strolled towards them, her automatic hanging by her side, with that smirk they all knew too well.

As she came to stand in front of them, she shifted the gun to her left hand, extending her right.

"It's nice to meet you, Agent Eppes."

_Back at the FBI_

Charlie and Amita were worried. Colby was still sat there on the chair. His head in his hands. Not moving. Colby always moved. Always. He hated the desk side of the job, and was always putting off his paperwork until the last minute in order to get as much action as possible. Seeing him so still was worrying to say the least. Pretty soon after Don, Nikki and Liz had left an hour previously, Charlie and Amita had moved to the bullpen, living Colby alone in the squad room, and had been watching him ever since.

Charlie leaned towards Amita. "You rang Alice right?" Despite the hustle and bustle of the bullpen, he still felt the need to whisper.

Amita replied without taking her eyes off Colby. "Yes, she was on a school trip so I left a message with reception. They're trying to find a replacement to watch the kids so she can get here."

"Did you tell them what's going on?"

"No," she answered, still whispering. "I just said that there was an emergency with her boyfriend, and that she was needed."

They were both silent as their attention turned back to Colby. They knew he had always been guarded and private, but everyone had always assumed that it was due to his days in the Army. This had thrown all of them through a loop, and the whole group had begun wondering how well they really knew Colby. Nearby, Charlie heard the ding of the elevator, and turned just in time to see a very distressed Alice rushing on to the floor. He could clearly see the fear on her face that something had happened to Colby, and as she spotted him, she quickly hurried her pace towards him.

"Charlie! Amita! Where's Colby? And Don? Why is there no one here?! What's going on?!" Alice was on the verge of tears, and Charlie quickly realised that they probably should have given her some more information. Or at least told her that Colby was alright. Sort of.

"Alice. Alice! ALICE!" he yelled, finally getting the hysterical woman's attention. As she finally managed to focus on him, he could see the unguarded fear and terror in her eyes. They had all become very close as a group, and Alice had fit in immediately. In fact, she and Amita had formed a firm friendship since their meeting at Don's wedding. "Listen to me, ok? Colby's fine." He gripped on to her shoulders and looked straight in to her green eyes. "He's FINE," he said again.

Her shoulders dropped a good couple of inches as she let out a deep breath. She looked at the ground, and as Charlie's eyes followed, he noticed her hands were shaking. He felt Amita come round him to put an arm around Alice's shoulders, and as she looked back up again, he saw unshed tears of relief in her eyes.

She quickly ran a hand through her bright red hair, before a worried expression fell back on her face.

"I got your message and came straight here. What's going on? You said there was something wrong with Colby?" Alice asked, with just a slight wobble to her voice.

After sharing a quick glance with his wife, Charlie decided to take the plunge. "Alice," he started tentatively. "Did Colby ever tell you about his daughter?"

A brief look of shock passed over Alice's face before she answered. "Rowan?" she asked. Slightly relieved, all Charlie could do was nod. "Yes, about 6 months after we got together. We were at his apartment, and he'd been acting funny all day. I was sitting on the couch after dinner when he came in with a photo of the two of them and explained everything." There was hint of confusion in her voice as to the relevance of this information, before realisation quickly took over. "Oh my god. Did you find her?"

Amita decided to take over from her husband. She had quite a soft spot for the couple, and had been thrilled to see the change in Colby as the relationship blossomed. "Sort of," she replied. Sensing that further explanation was needed, she continued. "There was a crime scene yesterday. A group of gang bangers found dead in a warehouse. When they investigated they found a blood smear. Deliberate. It came back to Rowan." At Alice's audible gasp, Amita had to pause. Saying it out loud had really hit home to her quite what a miracle this all was. After helping Charlie with his FBI work for a few years now, she knew how rare it was to find a child that had been missing for that long, let alone finding them alive.

"Do they know?" Alice stammered. At the couple's questioning look she continued. "Is she alive?"

"They believe so."

Neither of them were expecting the small shout of joy that came out of the teacher. As she brought a hand up to her mouth, Alice started shaking all over again. She had seen the pain all over her boyfriend's face when he first told her about his daughter and her disappearance. To think that his pain could be ending, was just too brilliant for words.

As she took a moment to regain control of her emotions, she thought back to the day when she first met Colby. She had been teaching her kindergarten class when he had knocked on the door, asking for her help in locating one of the other members of staff at the school. Of course she had immediately noticed how attractive he was, but as she had taken him to his destination, they had quickly struck up a conversation. After he left, she had thought she would never see him again. Until one day, when she walked out to her car at the end of the day, and spotted him leaning up against his. Almost 9 months later, she couldn't imagine her life without him. It was hard to spend time together she admitted, with his schedule, but the time she did get with him more than made up for it. As she reminisced, she suddenly snapped back to why she was there. "Where is he?"

"In there," Charlie replied, pointing towards Colby's prone figure. Still unmoving.

"Thank you." She didn't quite know what to say as she walked away from the professors and towards her shocked boyfriend. He didn't even look up at her as she opened the door, walked in, and knelt in front of him. His eyes remained fixed on the floor, until she put his hands on either side of his face and made him look at her. "Hi," she said softly.

As Colby pulled his girlfriend into his arms, listening to the words of comfort she was whispering into his ears, he finally allowed himself to let everything go. His relief, shock, sadness. All of it. For the first time, in a long time, Colby Granger cried.

**Well this is the longest chapter of them all. I think it was mainly guilt from not updating for so long. That, and I haven't written anything for a while, so once I started, I couldn't stop.**

**Feel free to review. But yes, I do know how out there the plot line is. But isn't that the point of fanfiction?**

**Until next time x**


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